WINDSOR, Colo. — Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC maintained their spot on top of the West Group in the USL Jägermeister Cup with a 4-3 win over Central Valley Fuego FC on Saturday, with all seven goals coming in the second half.
The win gives Hailstorm 9 points from four matches in the Cup and extends their lead on the rest of the pack in terms of goals scored, which will determine the Wild Card spot in the semifinals.
“You take the three points no matter how they come and it’s great to get the four goals,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said.
The first half of the match was marred by weather delays, with kickoff delayed by more than an hour and another hour delay in the 17th minute.
Once action resumed the first half ended scoreless, despite Hailstorm having 64 percent of the possession and holding a 9-4 advantage in shots.
Bruno Rendon got the second-half scoring barrage underway early, getting on the end of an early cross from Billy King and finishing past the Fuego keeper. It was Rendon’s fifth goal in Jägermeister Cup play, extending his lead atop the Cup goal scoring charts.
After a Fuego equalizer in the 61st minute, Hailstorm found a quick response with Jackson Dietrich scoring his first goal of the season off of Lucky Opara’s cutback to put Hailstorm up 2-1 in the 65th minute.
Hailstorm extended their lead five minutes later, this time with a header from Ethan Hoard for his sixth goal of the season in all competitions.
“It feels great,” Hoard said. “To be honest I couldn’t do it without my teammates backing me up. I think the service that I get makes me play better.”
The assist for Hoard once again came from a King cross, the Scotsman’s second assist in his first start of the season.
“It’s unbelievable, Ethan and Bruno win every header and they’re both a threat in behind. It’s good having them in the box when I’m out wide,” King said.
However, the drama was not over as Fuego scored twice in quick succession to level the match at 3-3 in the 83rd minute, but it was just a minute later when Hailstorm got the winner from midfielder Danny Robles, who secured all three points for the home side late in the match.
“I’m really happy with the attackers,” Zayed said. “Creating chances and scoring goals, long may it continue. But everything starts in defense so we need to clean that up.”
The win gives Hailstorm a streak of six matches unbeaten in all competitions. They will look to extend that to seven when One Knoxville SC comes to 4Rivers Equipment Stadium for a USL League One match on June 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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The home of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, 118-acre Future Legends Complex will feature 6,500-seat TicketSocket Park, 2,500-seat 4Rivers Equipment Stadium, multiple baseball diamonds, multi-purpose fields, an indoor sports arena, lodging, and retail; and will host guests for major sports leagues, tournaments, events and more.
More information is available at HailstormFC.com and FutureLegendsComplex.com.